Warmth
by eclecticdinosaurs
Summary: Derek remembered looking for the perfect gift for his girlfriend. His Kate. He remembered that kid with the big brown eyes help him find the perfect gift. But that was a long time ago. He never imagined he'd find himself in the same aisle with Stiles, looking for someone's perfect gift.


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_**I don't own them and I'm poor so don't sue.**_

* * *

Derek remembers standing in an obnoxiously pink aisle decked out in hearts, teddy bears, roses and cards. He remembered his heart pounding and palms sweaty as he tried to pick the best Valentine's Day gift for his girlfriend.

His Kate.

He wished he could buy her something more expensive and meaningful. Something like jewelry, but he couldn't afford anything that costly with his weekly allowance. So he hoped that whatever he ended up getting would make her smile. He wanted a proper smile, not that mischievous grin she got when his hands roamed her body in dingy motel rooms in the early hours of the morning.

So he strolled around the aisle, lost in his own world when he felt something small crash into his body.

"Ow."

He looked down to see the owner of the tiny voice.

"Look where you're going," the younger boy said with a pout.

Derek would have chosen this time to point out that the kid was just at fault for running into him but stopped when he saw the kid's watery eyes. The kid couldn't have been older than 8. He had a buzz cut and the biggest honeyed brown eyes he'd ever seen. Little spots that looked like chocolate chips covered his face and neck. The kid hiccupped and looked around. It was clear he was lost.

"You're right, sorry," Derek took out his handkerchief and offered it to the kid. "What's your name and where are your parents?"

"Apologies accepted," he said as he took the handkerchief and blew his nose. "My name is Stiles and I lost my dad in the store."

Derek noted the choice of words _I lost my dad_. As if dad had wandered off while Stiles compared prices in the produce section.

"Right, well my name is Derek, I'll help you find him, okay?"

Stiles looked up in awe and nodded, grabbing Derek's hand and holding tight as if to prevent Derek from getting lost as well.

Derek nodded and began to walk out the aisle when he felt a small tug. He turned to see Stiles with a question in his eyes.

"Weren't you gonna get something here?" Stiles asked with concern. "I'll help you find something if you help me reach the top shelf over there."

"Umm, okay," Derek replied slowly following Stile's pointed finger. "I don't know what I'm getting yet so I'll help you first."

Stiles nodded and pointed to a brown stuffed bear with a red pillow that had the word's "You're the bestest" embroidered on. Derek bit back a laugh and handed it to a beaming Stiles.

"My mom is gonna love this!" Stiles said out loud. "Mom's really sick and she's been in the hospital for a long time but the doctors let her come already. Mom says it's because she's better but she kinda looks the same and can't get out of bed but maybe my gift will make her feel good again!"

Derek was surprised at the speed and at which the words fell from the kid's mouth. Not even his 10 year old cousins were this articulate. He saw as Stiles took out a bunch of quarters and counted if he had enough money for the gift. When his smile fell slightly as he counted how much money he still needed, he put the bear down in the lower racks.

"Umm, I don't want it anymore," he said in a small voice. He looked up to Derek and smiled big, "Come on Derek, I'll help you buy a gift instead."

"I really don't-"

"Is it for a girlfriend?" Stiles asked as he paced the floor.

"Yes, but I don't think she'll like anything from here." Derek waved a hand at all of the cliché gifts. "And I don't have much money to buy her something big."

"It doesn't have to be big dummy," Stiles said with a pout as he pulled some stuffed animals from the lower racks. "Mom says that gifts come from the heart, not the pocket. As long as you choose the gift with the love you have for them, the other will like it. And if they don't, then maybe you should reconsider who you give your heart to."

Derek had never heard anyone, least of all a child speak with so much sense. The kid was right, he loved Kate and he was sure Kate loved him. Anything they got each other would be great no matter what the price.

"Get her this. This is even better than the teddy bear." Stiles shoved a stuffed snowy wolf with a red heart shaped pillow between its paws. "This and a rose, she'll love that."

Derek took the animal and grinned. This was perfect. She had to love it, she just had to.

"Dad!" Stiles shrieked as he ran to hug a man in a police officer's uniform. "Dad you ran off!"

"I'm sure that's how you think it happened buddy."

Derek immediately recognized Officer Stilisnki. He'd overheard his mother say that Officer Stilinski's wife had been authorized to leave the hospital so she could at least be with her family for her remaining days. Derek swallowed the lump in his throat and remembered Stiles's look when he couldn't afford the teddy bear.

"That's Derek dad," Stiles said enthusiastically in answering a question Derek hadn't heard. "He looked after me while you were gone. I helped him find a gift for his girlfriend she's gonna love the gift it's great!"

"Well thank you Derek, I appreciate you looking after him." Officer Stilinski said with a nod. "Come on buddy, mom's probably worried we've taken so long and we still need to get the milk."

Stiles waved goodbye as his father dragged him away to the dairy section.

Derek headed for the checkout line after he went back to get the teddy bear.

Stiles's face split into a wide smile as he ran to the patrol car and found the teddy bear on the hood of the car. The note attached said _Thanks for the help. Happy Valentine's Day._

* * *

That day seemed like it happened centuries ago. Like it'd happened to another person completely.

Derek Hale, hopeless romantic was long gone or at least very little remained of him. All that was left was a shell who was messed up in every possible way. So ruined that even his anchor was one of the darkest emotions someone could muster. A poison that he'd learned to live off from.

He wasn't the same person, but once again, he found himself in the same obnoxiously pink aisle.

"Dude, I'm at the store what do you want me to get?" Stiles pinched the bridge of his nose as he gripped the cell phone tightly. "Scott, how can you not have the vaguest idea of what to get your girlfriend?"

Derek observed without saying a word as Stiles got more and more impatient over the phone. The alpha bit down a laugh as he saw the younger man strangle a stuffed puppy that closely resembled Scott. He'd be lying if he didn't find the image hilarious. Part of him wanted to take a picture, the other half want to growl and make him hurry.

"Well it's not my fault you're in detention now is it?" Stiles said through gritted teeth. "Okay, that's all? Yeah man, that's a cute idea; I bet she'll love it. Okay, pass by for it when you're out."

Stiles put the phone away and began looking through the gifts. Derek stayed in the same spot, one step before entering the aisle.

There was no doubt about it, having no car sucked.

His beloved Camaro was in the auto shop and Stiles was the only one available to help him run errands now that the reconstruction of the house was finished. The main job was to get it furnished and they were on their way from the store with kitchen ware when Stiles had gotten the call from an extremely panicked Scott McCall. Scott had been put in detention and was panicking because he'd have no time to buy Allison a gift before he met with her for their date.

Stiles, being the good friend he was, had stopped at the store to buy the gift for him. Derek wasn't happy with the detour but he owed Stiles for helping him out with the house, with the pack and for the countless of times he'd saved him.

To be honest, Derek owed him a lifetime and then some.

"Which one?" Stiles asked Derek shoving two stuffed dolls into his hands. "The puppy that looks like Scott or the wolf?"

He set the puppy down. "I like the wolf a lot better actually."

Derek scoffed at both. "Seriously? Stuffed animals are his idea of a Valentine's Day gift?"

"What's wrong with stuffed animals?" Stiles asked offended, clutching the jet black wolf to his chest. "How is this a bad gift?"

"How is it a good one?" Derek asked crossing his arms. "He should buy her something expensive, something big."

"Since when are you an expert in V Day gifts huh?" Stiles asked. He returned his attention to the stuffed animals, never letting go of the black wolf.

Derek didn't know why he was even giving his opinion. He didn't care about Valentine's Day. He hadn't for the longest time, not since Kate. He still remembered the look she gave him when he gave her the stupid stuffed wolf and red rose after that kid had told him she'd love it.

"And it doesn't have to be big dummy." Stiles said with a pout. "A good gift comes from the heart, not the pocket. As long as you choose the gift with the love you have for them, the other will like it. And if they-"

"-don't, then maybe you should reconsider who you give your heart to." Derek finished for him, the realization of who he was standing next to hitting hard. It was odd, to be in the same place with the same person from all those years ago. Back when he was alive.

Stiles simply stared. "How did you know the last part?"

"I- I just figure that was where you were going with it." Derek shifted uncomfortably under Stiles's stare. "Are we done here or-"

Stiles stood quite for a long time, still clutching the wolf close to his heart. After some moments, he spoke calmly, "It was for Kate, wasn't it?"

Derek's stomach dropped. He was hoping Stiles wouldn't remember and wouldn't piece the puzzle together. Still, he wasn't sure why he didn't feel vulnerable in front of Stiles. Stiles, the physically weakest in the pack, but also the strongest. The kid who kept urging Scott to leave him dead plenty of times but risked his own skin to keep him safe. Stiles was a wonderful contradiction wrapped up in dorky tees and hoodies.

"She laughed at me," Derek said after a few moments. He gave a dry laugh. "I was an idiot."

"No," Stiles said shaking his head. "You were in love."

"Same thing," Derek replied, head bent low, hands balled up in his leather jacket.

Stiles must have sensed how uncomfortable he was, because shortly after he tossed him the jeep's key and told he could wait inside until he paid. Derek left him in the same aisle looking through the cards.

Stiles emerged from the store shortly after, a large bag at his side.

They drove in silence all the way to the Hale House. Stiles helped him unload what they bought for the kitchen and for Isaacs bedroom. Even though everyone had their own room, Isaac was the one that permanently lived there and his room was priority.

Derek thanked Stiles and sent him on his way. For the first time, Stiles didn't swat him and invite himself to stay. This time, Stiles didn't say a word and left home.

Derek tore the leather jacket off and threw himself on the couch as he heard the jeep rumble away. He fell into an uneasy sleep, trying to forget the cold he felt when Stiles walked away.

The smell of food woke him up. He turned to the clock above the fireplace.

_5:00 pm_.

Derek knew no one was due to be at the house for the whole night. Everyone had plans on Valentine's Day, the house was supposed to be his for the night.

He was surprised to know he didn't feel threatened in the least. He sniffed the air; there was a mixture of food and a familiar scent that wrapped around him. He entered the kitchen to find Stiles setting a plastic bag on the kitchen counter.

Either Stiles hadn't seen him or he was ignoring his presence for the time being because he went about the kitchen grabbing forks and napkins like if it was normal for him to be there. Derek supposed it was. Apart from Isaac, Stiles was the one that spent the most time in the house. He'd not only help rebuild it, but he did his research and his magic study/practice sessions with Deaton in the house. Derek supposed this was the reason why the animal in him was at peace with the "intruder". It helped that the intruder wasn't an intruder at all.

He watched as Stiles took the Chinese takeout boxes from the bag and handed him a soda can. Stiles looked up with a smile.

"Come on, I brought my dvd player earlier today," Stiles walked towards the living room. "Isaac let me borrow his Walking Dead box series, so that's what's on."

Derek grabbed his box of food and followed Stiles to the living room where he had already settled on the floor. They ate in silence during the first episode, Stiles making little comments here and there.

When they were finished, Derek picked up the mess. When he came back to the living room, Stiles had migrated to the couch. He was ungracefully sprawled on the couch, his body taking over the whole couch.

"Woops, sorry," Stiles said as he began to sit up.

"No it's fine." Derek lifted Stiles's feet and sat beneath them, letting them settle on his lap. After some moments, Derek cleared his throat, "You're right. A gift doesn't have to be big for it to mean something big."

Stiles sat up and scooted closer to Derek. He placed his arm around the alpha's shoulders and rested his head on the shoulder closest to him. Derek leaned into the warmth Stiles provided. Much like he leaned into the warmth he thought Kate provided.

The thing was, Kate never gave anything and when she did, it burned. Burned to the point that he confused it for passion, for lust infused with love.

_It was never love. _Derek thought as he felt Stiles breathing beside him.

Kate took and took until Derek had nothing but a pile of ash and a guilt that seeped through his bones. Now, out of all the people in the world, the same kid that held his hand long ago was holding him tonight. Holding him and trying to give back some of the warmth she took.

"She loved it," Stiles whispered after a few moments of silence. "She loved the teddy bear you left for me. She was holding on to it when she die-"

Stiles stopped. Derek could hear his voice breaking and the tears roll down his cheeks. The grief he felt coming from Stiles was unbearable. He wrapped his arms around his smaller frame and held him tighter.

"So thanks," Stiles whispered. "That really made my day and it made hers too."

"I'm glad," Derek replied.

"I almost forgot!" Stiles got to his feet and gave a watery laugh, "I bought you something."

"Stiles, you didn't ha-"

"Shush," Stiles waved his hands and picked up his keys. "It's in the car, gimme a sec and promise not to laugh or kill me when you see what it is."

Derek sat back and Stiles bounced out of the house and in his car.

Derek felt the empty space Stiles left behind.

_Laugh?_ Derek thought. _Why would I laugh?_

As if he'd laugh at whatever Stiles had gone through the trouble of buying him.

Stiles was back moments later, a plastic bag behind his back and sheepish smile on his face. He took a seat on the couch and eyed Derek with caution.

"No laughing?" He asked tentatively.

"Of course not," Derek replied.

Stiles gave him the bag and watched as Derek pulled the jet black stuffed wolf. The heart embroidered on its chest was the only detail that made it a Valentine's Day gift. Derek smiled when he saw the wolfs eyes painted red, no doubt Stiles doing.

"I know it's stupid but I stand by it," Stiles began, not meeting Derek's eyes. He reached a hand and felt the wolfs fur, "this is the _bestest_ gift in ever."

With a tilt of his head, Derek leaned in and captured Stiles's lips. He felt Stiles freeze momentarily, before he felt himself being pulled closer. Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles and pulled him closer, not wanting to break the kiss, not even for air. He didn't need air; all he needed was Stiles and the ridiculous warmth he provided.

He needed to keep him close and never let go because if he did, then maybe Stiles would realize how big a mistake he was committing and leave him too. Stiles broke the kiss, his hands not letting go of Derek's shirt.

"I'm not going anywhere," Stiles whispered as if reading Derek's fear.

Stiles swooped in for another kiss. This one was much slower, both taking their time to commit the other's lips to memory.

Derek felt himself get pulled down until he found himself on top of Stiles. He left a trail of kisses starting from Stiles's collar bones to his lips. He made a mental note of the other's moles, wanting to memorize every tiny detail just in case the warmth left him again.

As if reading his thoughts, Stiles used his weight to turn them over until Derek was on his back. He then reached for the throw blanket and covered them from head to toe.

"I'm staying right here," Stiles whispered. He stole a kiss and added, "And so are you."

"You'll keep me warm?" Derek asked in something akin to a whimper.

Stiles planted another kiss on Derek's lips before he wrapped his arms protectively around the older man. He felt as Derek burrowed his face in his neck, shivering slightly.

"Always," Stiles whispered back.

* * *

Derek woke up hours later still wrapped in the younger man's arms.

He smiled as the coldness that once chilled his bones was now a distant memory.


End file.
